‘The Walking Dead’ Planning “Heavy” Return for Shane

Shane Walsh’s appearance in Season Nine of The Walking Dead will be some emotionally heavy content.

Speaking to TVLine‘s Michael Ausiello, the Dead universe’s chief content officer Scott Gimple offered a touch of insight regarding Jon Bernthal’s return to the AMC zombie show. The actor exited his Shane Walsh role in Season Two, when Rick killed his character, leaving fans curious about the return.

“We tried to get something out of Scott Gimple, chief content officer for all things Dead, but he was still bummed that Jon Bernthal’s ‘surprise’ guest appearance had been spoiled when ‘photographs came out like a moment after he landed in Georgia,’” Ausiello said. “So all he’d say was that Shane’s appearance involves ‘some very cool, very heavy stuff.’”

The return of Shane Walsh furthers the promise from Rick actor Andrew Lincoln during his interview with ComicBook.com at San Diego Comic-Con, seen in the video above.

“Without a doubt,” there are vibes from the show’s first season, Lincoln said. “I think there were a lot of the pilot episode that was reminiscent of this opening episode and also a couple of other episodes, too. We have a few surprises as we both know but we’re not allowed to talk about.”

Still, the show has a rejuvenated vibe to it both behind-the-scenes and on-camera heading into its ninth season, largely due to Angela Kang stepping in as showrunner. “We loved it,” Lincoln said. “We have to talk about Angela Kang if we talk about this season, because she is the creative force this season. She’s been on the show since Season Two and I think she’s breathed new life into it and given us a collaborative feel on set and also just an energy. A real positive energy. It feels like the show that I always thought we would get to when I shot the pilot in Atlanta nine years ago.”

Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. The Walking Dead returns for its ninth season on October 7th. For more updates and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter!